# The Skyscraper That Ruined Paris ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris.webp]] **Creator:** The B1M · **Published:** 2026-02-11 · **Length:** 15:39 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68JUxRH8AZo) > Caption source: YouTube **manual English (UK)** captions (`en-GB`) downloaded with **yt-dlp** on the first attempt — TubeAlfred was not needed (0 credits used). The manual track covers the whole narration and interview but skips the **Straight Arrow News** sponsor read (about 2:37–4:07), which was filled from YouTube's auto-generated English track. Names, spellings and figures were cross-checked with The B1M's companion article, [The Plan to Save Paris' Most Hated Building](https://www.theb1m.com/video/the-plan-to-save-paris-most-hated-building) (byline **Ian Parkin**, 11 February 2026, "Video narrated and hosted by Fred Mills."), which follows the script closely and adds the **€300m** renovation budget and a **2026** start date. Figures that match the companion: **210 m**; the **1977** ban on buildings over **25 m**, four years after completion; **La Défense** nine kilometres from the centre; **50,000** commuters a day; the four-phase **1959** Maine-Montparnasse plan; Metro **line 6** under the footprint; **56** piles up to **60 m** deep; **12,000 m³** of concrete underground, over a quarter of the total; slip-forming at about **30 cm a day**; complete by **1973**; Nouvelle AOM's renovation approved in **2017**. Only the narration gives the **120,000 m²** of offices, Giscard d'Estaing's role, the **33-year** ban and its **2023** return, **Wylie Tuttle**, the **150 m** → **210 m**/**59-storey** redesign, **65M francs**, the **1970** start, the **122,000-tonne** weight and the **40,000-tonne** tunnel beams. The interviewee is identified on screen as **Professor Nicole Griggs, Architectural Historian / Editor** (the companion just says "architectural historians"). The caption's "Stella" is read as *stele*, and the chapter title "Haussman's Paris" is kept as published (the baron's name is Haussmann). YouTube chapters used for section headings; they line up with the captions. Screenshots from the 720p stream (format 136). Host **Fred Mills**. Paid promotion: **Straight Arrow News** (app, Media Miss feature, AllSides balance rating); description also plugs Fred's book ***Mega Builds*** (pre-order), **Get Construction Talking** and *The World's Best Construction Podcast*. Additional footage and images: **Nouvelle AOM**, **Indiana University**, **BNF**, **SNCF**. ## Outline ### 0:00 Err, is this right? - **0:00** A mock-romantic tour of Paris — "fine food, high culture and, most importantly, exquisite buildings" — keeps getting interrupted by one building that "shouldn't" be in the script. - **0:33** It's the **Tour Montparnasse**, the **first skyscraper ever built in Paris**: **210 m** high, with **120,000 m² of offices** in one of the city's most historic neighbourhoods. - **0:51** The locals hate it. Just a few years after completion, **a law was passed banning anything like it** from being built again. - **1:03** A plan is now under way to turn it "from the phantom of the opera into the belle of the ball" — by **making it invisible**. ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0003.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0035.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0066.webp]] ### 1:18 Europe ≠ skyscrapers - **1:17** Europe doesn't really do skyscrapers: there are **more in New York City than across the entire continent**, and no city shows this better than Paris. - **1:32** The backlash against the Tour Montparnasse was so strong that in **1977**, four years after completion, President **Valéry Giscard d'Estaing** banned anything over **25 m** in central Paris. - **1:48** The ban lasted **33 years** before being repealed — just long enough to start the **Tour Triangle** — before everyone decided they hated that too and **the ban returned in 2023**. - **2:02** Skyscrapers do exist in **La Défense**, the business district **nine kilometres** from the centre, beyond the outer ring road (*périphérique*). - **2:12** Few major cities have kept such a **uniform architectural style**, key to Paris' *joie de vivre* — hence the "non" to towers. ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0082.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0115.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0140.webp]] ### 2:24 A different era - **2:26** In the **1950s** things were different: the city was **run down, shabby** and hardly fit for purpose. - **2:37** *Sponsor:* **Straight Arrow News** — a news app that gathers reporting from across the political divide; its **Media Miss** feature scores who is under- or over-reporting a story; certified balance rating from **AllSides**; free download via QR code. - **4:08** As a new world emerged from the wreckage of the Second World War, Paris' elegant apartments and monuments looked like "the sign of a city stuck in the past", while **London** and **New York** built modern offices for the new economy. - **4:28** Paris was still a city of **workshops and studios** — and getting left behind. - **4:34** **Prof. Nicole Griggs:** Paris is about **artisanal crafts** going back to the medieval period; in the 1960s came the push to **decentralise**, and post-war reconstruction under the **Marshall Plan** focused on other parts of France, not Paris. ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0150.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0252.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0290.webp]] ### 4:59 A new plan - **4:59** Enter senator and state prefect **Edgard Pisani**, who wanted a modern destination in the heart of the city to lure office workers back and show Paris could compete with other global cities. - **5:12** He chose **Montparnasse**, named after the home of the **Greek Muses** (Mount Parnassus) and once a haunt of artists who rented café tables for a few centimes; the walls of **La Rotonde** were decorated with sketches by penniless artists in lieu of payment. - **5:37** **Griggs:** Montparnasse went from the literary-artistic centre of the 1920s–30s to jazz and "a little bit more of a seedy element"; there was a push to clean up poorer areas and infuse them with something modern. - **6:02** At its centre was the **Gare Montparnasse** — famous for the **1895 derailment** photo — but by the 1950s it carried **50,000 commuters a day** ("and a few cats") and was struggling to cope. - **6:20** For Pisani, it was a chance to clear out the old and "let fresh air into the city." ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0303.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0330.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0367.webp]] ### 6:31 Maine-Montparnasse - **6:27** In **1959** he unveiled the **Maine-Montparnasse plan**, a vast district in **four phases**: phases one and two, new housing either side of the station; phase three, a **shopping mall** and the all-important **skyscraper**; phase four, the station's redevelopment. - **6:47** By **1966** the station and housing were complete, but the tower — the most controversial part — was proving the hardest. - **6:56** Building a skyscraper is still hard today, but in 1959 it was far from guaranteed. The project was led by the **French government**, which had **no experience** of such a huge building. ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0395.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0425.webp]] ### 7:24 France's first skyscraper - **7:14** The economics were new too, so the state turned to American real-estate developer **Wylie Tuttle**. - **7:24** The first plan was a **150 m tower** with a shopping mall and smaller office block, but the state-owned company couldn't find the **65M francs** to build it. - **7:37** Under Tuttle the tower grew another **60 m** to **59 storeys**; the extra space meant more tenants and the finance to cover the build. - **7:49** In **1970**, **11 years** after the plan was drawn up, construction began. - **8:02** The site sat on top of **Metro lines**; **line 6** runs directly under the tower's footprint. With the tower's weight and soft soil, building around it would have made the soil subside and the tunnel collapse. - **8:22** The only answer: build the **122,000-tonne** tower **directly over the line** and spread the weight evenly on each side. - **8:35** Concrete walls were built either side of the tracks to protect the tunnel and carry load; above, **four concrete beams** strengthened the roof, able to take **40,000 tonnes**. Piles were sunk either side to secure the foundation. - **8:52** Old **quarrying** left loosely packed subsoil, so the piles went down **60 m** — nearly a third of the building's height — to reach stable **clay**. - **9:13** **56 piles** were filled with **12,000 m³ of concrete**, just over a quarter of all the concrete in the building. - **9:26** A new type of construction: a **concrete core** for stairs, lifts and services, a **steel superstructure** holding the floorplates, then **cladding** — the method nearly every tall building uses today. - **9:49** It used a relatively new technique, **slip forming**, developed in the US in the early 20th century for **agricultural silos** and adopted for high-rises by the 1960s: concrete is poured continuously into a mould that **hydraulic jacks** push upward as the lower layers set. - **10:14** The big benefit is speed: the core rose **24/7** at about **30 cm a day**. By **1973** the tower was nearing completion — but at ground level, minds were made up. ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0450.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0485.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0520.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0560.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0600.webp]] ### 10:32 Backlash - **10:38** The tower was meant to represent a vital new Paris rising out of the smoky, old-fashioned city — but "everyone quite liked the smoky, old fashioned city." - **10:51** **Griggs:** Paris is incredibly **homogenous**, built of **local limestone** — a "palace city" with uniform materials and façades regulated since Haussmann. The tower is the antithesis: dark, with **darkened glass**, a **monoblock** — "I don't think I've met one Parisian that likes it." ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0640.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0665.webp]] ### 11:22 Haussman's Paris - **11:21** Paris owes much of its look to **Baron Haussmann**, who — inspired by London's **Regent Street** — remodelled the city between **1853 and 1870**, turning a medieval city of timber-frame buildings into today's **neo-classical** one. - **11:43** The legacy: long, straight **boulevards** and the **Haussmann apartment block** — six or seven storeys in **cream limestone**, shops at street level and a **grey mansard roof** — giving a fairly uniform height the tower "fell well foul of." - **12:03** **Griggs:** height limits run from about **31 m up to 37 m**, against a **210 m** tower — "it sticks out"; it's like a **stele**, meant to be seen from anywhere in Paris — "a different concept of the way in which Paris functions." - **12:33** Standing so tall in a low-rise city, it also looms into views of Paris' most cherished landmarks. ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0690.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0712.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0760.webp]] ### 12:55 The shock of the new - **12:46** With such a strong classical identity, anything new will stick out — the **Pompidou Centre**, the **Louvre Pyramid** and even the **Eiffel Tower** were all widely criticised before becoming icons. - **13:05** **Griggs:** some Parisians lament that without big towers in the centre, the city has **stagnated** into "a city of tourists" — and, going back to Haussmann, the poor are pushed out of the city. ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0780.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0800.webp]] ### 13:31 A good compromise? - **13:30** In the **2010s**, politicians and mayoral hopefuls openly called for the tower's **demolition** (footage shows **Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet**), until in **2017** it was thrown a lifeline. - **13:41** A **full-scale renovation** was approved, designed by the architects' consortium **Nouvelle AOM**. - **13:48** It breaks up the monolith: bands of **sky gardens** add horizontal features to interrupt the old tower's solid verticality. - **14:00** Strong winds race up the "sail-like" exterior today; the new design harnesses them with **façade openings** for **natural ventilation**. - **14:13** The "elephant on the façade": **transparent glazing** to help the tower "blend in." - **14:21** **Griggs:** it looks pretty, but "my inner historian" questions such a radical makeover — could it have kept its cladding? "Maybe we might be losing something." - **15:03** Work is due to begin **next year** (2026, per the companion), stripping the tower back to its **core and steel frame**. Will the ugly duckling become a swan — or is the only way to make Parisians love it to make it **disappear**? - **15:24** Outro: **Get Construction Talking** (construction's mental-health crisis, getconstructiontalking.org); subscribe to The B1M. ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0815.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0840.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0870.webp]] ![[images/The-Skyscraper-That-Ruined-Paris-t0905.webp]] ## Things mentioned ### Buildings and places in Paris - **Tour Montparnasse** — 210 m, 59 storeys, 120,000 m² of offices; built 1970–73 over Metro line 6; 122,000 tonnes; renovation by Nouvelle AOM approved 2017 (companion: €300m, work from 2026) - **Tour Triangle** — the tower started during the 2010–2023 break in the height ban - **La Défense** — the business district 9 km from the centre, beyond the périphérique, where Paris' skyscrapers stand - **Gare Montparnasse** — 50,000 commuters a day in the 1950s; rebuilt in phase four; the 1895 derailment photo - **Montparnasse** — named after Mount Parnassus, home of the Muses; artists' quarter of the 1920s–30s; **La Rotonde** café - **Metro line 6** — runs directly beneath the tower - **Pompidou Centre**, **Louvre Pyramid**, **Eiffel Tower** — once-criticised buildings that became icons - **Haussmann's boulevards and apartment blocks** — six–seven storeys, cream limestone, grey mansard roofs ### Elsewhere - **New York City** (more skyscrapers than all of Europe); **London** (post-war offices; **Regent Street**, Haussmann's inspiration) ### Plans and policy - **Maine-Montparnasse plan** (1959) — four phases: housing (1–2), mall and skyscraper (3), station (4); housing and station done by 1966 - **1977 height ban** — nothing over 25 m in central Paris; repealed after 33 years (2010); reinstated 2023 - **Marshall Plan** — post-war reconstruction aimed at other parts of France; 1960s decentralisation ### Engineering and construction - Tunnel reinforcement: concrete side walls plus four roof beams able to carry 40,000 tonnes - 56 piles, 60 m deep, through old quarry ground to stable clay; 12,000 m³ of concrete (over a quarter of the total) - Concrete core + steel superstructure + cladding; **slip forming** (first used in the US for silos), hydraulic jacks, 24/7 at ~30 cm a day - Renovation: stripped back to core and steel frame; bands of sky gardens; wind-driven natural ventilation; transparent glazing ### People and organisations - **Edgard Pisani**, **Wylie Tuttle**, **Valéry Giscard d'Estaing**, **Baron Haussmann**, **Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet** (on screen), **Prof. Nicole Griggs** - **Nouvelle AOM** — renovation designers; also a footage credit - Footage credits: Nouvelle AOM, Indiana University, BNF (Bibliothèque nationale de France), SNCF ### Sponsor and The B1M - **Straight Arrow News** — sponsor (app, Media Miss, AllSides balance rating) - **Fred Mills** (host); **Ian Parkin** (companion byline); ***Mega Builds*** (Fred's book, pre-order); **Get Construction Talking**; *The World's Best Construction Podcast* ### Figures and facts - 210 m vs Haussmann-era limits of about 31–37 m; 25 m ban from 1977 - 150 m first design; +60 m under Tuttle; 59 storeys; 65M francs shortfall - Plan 1959; housing and station 1966; construction from 1970; nearing completion 1973; renovation approved 2017; work from 2026 ## Biographies ### Fred Mills Co-founder and on-camera host of **The B1M**. He opens with a tongue-in-cheek tourist reverie that keeps "tripping over" the Tour Montparnasse, then walks through the post-war politics, the line 6 engineering and the backlash, ending on whether the Nouvelle AOM makeover can make Parisians love the tower by making it disappear. ### Professor Nicole Griggs Paris-based architectural historian, shown on screen as "Architectural Historian / Editor." She has a PhD in art and architectural history from Columbia University, teaches at The American University of Paris and is consulting editor-in-chief of *La Gazette Drouot International*. In the video she sets Montparnasse's post-war decline and the decentralisation push in context, contrasts the dark "monoblock" with Haussmann's homogenous limestone city, and questions whether the radical makeover may lose something of the building's history. ### Edgard Pisani (1918–2016) French senator, prefect and later minister (agriculture and infrastructure under de Gaulle). In the video he is the state official who launched the **Maine-Montparnasse plan** in 1959 to bring office workers back to central Paris and show the city could compete globally. ### Wylie Tuttle American real-estate developer brought in to make the tower pay. He grew it from 150 m to 210 m and 59 storeys so that more lettable space could finance the build. ### Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1926–2020) President of France from 1974 to 1981. In 1977, four years after the tower was completed, his government brought in the 25 m height limit for central Paris that kept another Tour Montparnasse from being built. ### Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann (1809–1891) Prefect of the Seine under Napoleon III. Between 1853 and 1870 he rebuilt Paris with boulevards and uniform limestone apartment blocks, inspired in part by London's Regent Street. That uniformity is the yardstick the tower is measured against, and fails. ### Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet French politician, former minister and the centre-right candidate for mayor of Paris in 2014. She appears in the footage as the narration describes 2010s politicians and mayoral hopefuls calling for the tower to be demolished. ### Nouvelle AOM An architecture collective (Franklin Azzi Architecture, Chartier Dalix and Hardel Le Bihan) that won the 2017 competition to remodel the Tour Montparnasse. Its design adds sky gardens, wind-driven ventilation and transparent glazing. ### Ian Parkin (The B1M) Byline on the companion article *[The Plan to Save Paris' Most Hated Building](https://www.theb1m.com/video/the-plan-to-save-paris-most-hated-building)* (11 February 2026). It follows the script and adds the renovation's €300m budget and 2026 start.